Jasmine Lee waited patiently for her assignment to arrive. The past thirty hours had been a whirlwind to say the least and the rest of the evening would be no better. She had somehow, beyond any of her own reasoning, managed to snag an interview with the most talked about female, heck person, in the world as of yesterday. She was moments away from coming face to face with the woman she had named Wonder Woman.
Too preoccupied with going over her notes for the hundredth time, she failed to notice the hostess walking to her table with a blonde young lady wearing a trench coat.
The hostess cleared her throat, “Ma’am, the rest of your party has arrived.”
Jasmine glanced up and saw a vaguely familiar face behind her.
“No one will bother you in the VIP section. A waiter will be by in a few minutes.” She glanced at the untouched menus on the table, “Apolambano!”
Cassandra flashed a small smile and sat herself across from Jasmine as the hostess left. “She said enjoy.” Judging by the confused expression on Jasmine’s face, the hero assumed she was a bit lost. Cassandra offered to translate. “She spoke in Greek.”
“Ah, thanks. It figures, this being a Greek vegetarian restaurant.” Jasmine passed Cassandra a menu. “Mind if I ask why here?”
“I was told by a friend that they have excellent vegetarian Greek food.” To be exact, she didn’t make the reservation, Veronica did. She was excited to be able to go out without worrying about someone noticing who she was yet. Soon, thanks to all the news coverage her dance with Herakles caused, she would be unable to go out looking like she did when she donned the Wonder Woman outfit, something she still had to get used to.
“I see. Any suggestions?” Jasmine wasn’t familiar with Greek culture. Her mother was half Chinese and half Welsh while her father was purely Chinese, although logic simply told her that was impossible in the current day and age.
“If you like veggies I would go with Yemista me Ryzi, the meatless stuffed vegetables.”
As she finished her recommendation the waiter arrived. He placed a glass of water in front of each guest. “Hi! I’m Nikos and I’ll be your waiter. Would you like a few minutes to look through the menu?” His voiced hinted at a Greek accent.
“I will have the Yemista me Ryzi.”
The waiter nodded, he was obviously impressed with Cassandra’s precise pronunciation, “And for you, Ma’am?”
“Make that two.”
The pair turned in their menus, “Thank you, ladies, your meals will be up shortly.”
Jasmine nodded and Cassandra gave him a thank you in his native tongue. He left with a sincere smile on his face.
“You do that with everyone don’t you?”
Cassandra looked baffled.
The reporter continued, “You make them feel good about themselves, no matter how crummy their life is.”
“Life is a gift, something that should be cherished and protected. Suffering is part of existing. I believe we should embrace it and move on, not dwell on our misfortunes.”
“Like death?”
“Death happens to us all... even Superman. It is a gift too, but Patriarch’s World is too focused on materialism to realize that.”
“Speaking of the Man of Steel, I was at the press conference yesterday. What you did, your reflexes, superhuman strength, the way you left, it all reminded me of Superman.” Jasmine was obviously still astonished at her abilities.
Cassandra knew to take it as a compliment. “Thank you. Did you ever meet him?”
“No, I didn’t. When he died, I just started getting my name in the bylines.”
“I am sure you are a wonderful journalist.”
“It’s hard to find the balance between caring and becoming obsessed. I want to get the truth to everyone but nothing is black and white, is it?”
“Only because people make it that way.” Cassandra knew all to well how important it was for people to know the truth. “Deep down, we all know life is not about wars or money or even power but about surviving, creating and bettering ourselves and the world.” If there was one thing Cassandra took from her life with the Amazons, it was her belief in everyone starting off with pure intentions.
"Before you begin to record, I must make something clear. All of the answers I give will be complete truths. I do not lie. Which means there will no doubt be questions I cannot respond to. It is not that I do not want to answer them but for the sake of security, I cannot."
"I understand." The waiter returned with their entrees. Jasmine slipped him a twenty, "Make sure no one gets a table back here until we're done."
"Yes, Ma'am." He snatched the twenty from her hand and left.
Cassandra raised her eyebrow at Jasmine’s plan for privacy.
“Money talks in Patriarch’s World.”
Cassandra displayed a blank expression.
"Okay, let's start." Jasmine pushed the red circle on her voice recorder. "Name?"
"Well you've seemed to have taken care of that."
"Come again?"
"You named me Wonder Woman. Everyone seems to like it."
"No real name?"
Cassandra shook her head.
"You can't blame a girl for trying. Herakles called you an Amazon. Is that true?"
Cassandra took a moment to think about her answer. In truth, she could respond either way, no she was not an Amazon by birth but yes she was an Amazon by acceptance. "Yes, I am an Amazon."
"Are there others?"
"Yes, a few thousand."
"And where do the Amazons stay?"
"I cannot reveal that. I am sorry but we like our privacy as it is. Our Queen has managed to keep our contact with Patriarch's World to a minimum, something we hope to continue." She saw nothing wrong with revealing small details of the Amazon life, but something as informative as their location could easily make Themyscira the next vacation hot spot.
"Then why come here? You're an Amazon, why not stay wherever you were?"
"That is not my path."
"Path?"
"I am here to help and protect. To make this world better. I cannot do so if I am isolated from the problems of Patriarch's World."
"Aren't Amazons ferocious warriors with a thirst for male blood from Greek myths?"
Cassandra couldn't help but quote an old friend. "There are many truths in the world that are disguised as stories. We are merely one of them. We do not believe in evoking violence but we are not afraid to use it if necessary."
"That's a bit contradictory, isn't it?"
"I suppose one could see it that way."
"But you don't?"
"No. I am here to help spread peace and ease suffering. Suffering is a state of mind, it is man made while peace and harmony are only natural. As I said, I will not use violence first but if attacked I will protect. My priority is to spread peace while keeping people safe from threats."
"Like Herakles?"
"Yes, like Herakles. I do not know anything more about him than you do, not even if he is the real thing, but I am not going to let him harm innocent people." Cassandra waited for Jasmine's next question. "Ms. Lee?"
Jasmine pointed behind her. The hero turned her head to discover someone all too familiar standing a foot away from the pair. "Hello again, Amazon."
"Ms. Lee, get everyone out."
"Are you kidding me? I'm not losing this exclusive."
"What is the use of an exclusive if you lose your life? We will finish the interview later, you have my word! Now leave!"
Jasmine paused. She looked at Herakles.
"I would listen to the Amazon," he formed another small lightening bolt and released it on a nearby circuit. The volt traveled to several neon signs throughout the restaurant. The broken circuits began to spark, starting several small fires. "Oops! Too late." Herakles winked, then shimmered out.
Cassandra burst through the wall separating the VIP section from the rest of the restaurant. The lightning bolts did a decent amount of damage. Wasting no time she flew towards a sign seconds away from falling. Directly under it was a table of two with little more than a breath of time until they would suffer from severe burns.
There was no time for hesitation. Using her super speed Cassandra managed to pull the couple to the side. Suddenly the whole restaurant was aware of the situation. "Wonder Woman!?!? Here? Can I have your autograph?" Or rather they were aware of her presence but not of the danger.
"Please! I need everyone to leave now!" Most of the crowd was still mesmerized but a few began to notice the flames and how fast they were spreading. Jasmine waved her hands in the air. Cassandra nodded. "Ms. Lee is at the door, please follow her. She will get you to safety."
By now most of the crowd was complying with Cassandra's advice. One bus boy, however, seemed to be unable to take his eyes off of her. "Sir, I need you to leave." Still no budging. She saw a name tag attached to his right breast pocket. "Ian," he nodded, "I am telling you to leave!" She had no time to deal with him being star struck over her. She quickly ran into him and flew towards the door while he hugged her tightly. "Here, now go!" She dropped him off.
Without hesitation she charged into the burning building. “Hello!” she called to the smoke filled room. Her main priority was to make sure no one was inside. Then she’d deal with Herakles. “Hello?” she tried again.
Making her way past the flames she managed to maneuver into the kitchen. A chef was sprawled out on the floor. The smoke inhalation had more than likely caused him to pass out. She dashed to his side. Once again wasting no time, she flew through the drop off door nearby. Several blaring sirens told her the fire and police departments were nearby. The hostess noticed Cassandra gently place the man down and ran to him, “Alcander! We’re still missing one. Christos was in the office... please, save him!” Tears streaked her cheeks and Cassandra gave her a strong nod.
Inside the kitchen for the second time, Cassandra had difficulty seeing. The fire had now spread throughout and was inching its way to where she stood. She guardedly made her way to the office, trying her best to ignore the intense heat. “Hello again, little one,” a powerful voice provoked. “Aren’t we the hero?”
“Herakles what are you doing?” The smoke made it near impossible for her to find him. “I thought you are a protector, why risk innocent lives?”
“Innocent? Ha! You are naive, even for an Amazon. No one is innocent, especially these fools. They are mortals, expendables amongst the gods,” he growled. “Expendables among our kind!”
The fire started to eat away at the wooden ceiling. Parts began to fall between the two. “I am not a god! A life is a life, no greater value is given to one over the other. If you are not going to help me, then leave! Whatever your grievance is towards me, I beg you put it aside before a life is needlessly lost. Just like your children.” She knew Greek myths and if he was the real Herakles, then he had lived many of them, including the slaughter of his children by his own hands.
“HELP!” A scream could be heard from a distance away. “HELP ME, PLEASE!”
“Better save the weakling.” Herakles flicked his wrist and a gust cleared Cassandra’s path. She was confused, why would he attack one moment, then help the next. “GO! Before I change my mind!” With that, he shimmered out.
~*~
